Most air travellers have had an opportunity to use headsets typically for accessing the sound track which accompanies the in-flight movie and audio channels. The headsets are collected towards the end of the flight, as is well-known.
Often, the headsets are packaged in plastic bags which are torn open to allow use. The earphones typically are collected without the bags and placed in a collection box where they become tangled. In order to reuse the headsets, they have to be untangled and cleaned, a process which inevitably leads to the destruction of a certain percentage of the headsets. The cost of handling the headsets, the destruction of same and the loss of others result in an expense which is of considerable concern to the airline industry.
The present invention provides for the use of a durable but flexible plastic container for each headset. The cord for the headsets extends through a nipple at the side of the container in order to permit electrical (or pneumatic) connection to be made to the plug provided for each passenger. The cord is secured to the nipple at a distance closely spaced apart from the connector, in order to properly secure the container in an out-of-the-way position when the headsets are withdrawn.
The container is constructed in the form of a pouch with a flap which is secured in a position to overlap the pouch. In one embodiment, the flap itself contains an inside pouch adapted to restrain the earphones if the flap is not secured in place. The container is adapted to permit easy reinsertion of the headset either by the passenger or by the flight attendant. In addition, the container lends itself to advertising which underwrites part of the cost of the headset. In fact, the ease of handling enabled by the use of the container along with the financial advantage of advertisements reduces the cost of the headsets to a level where it's less costly for the airline to give-away the headset than to handle it.